NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Ottawa, IL
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
No tropical storm or hurricane has passed within 75 miles of Ottawa, Illinois since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 103 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 103
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
17 deaths in all
What the records show for Ottawa
The strongest of the 103 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF4 on November 17, 2013; its path came within 24 miles, and it killed 3 people. The deadliest, an F3 on April 20, 2004, killed 8 people. Of the 103, 12 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 65 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 38. The most recent tornado was on July 15, 2024. Of the 548 Illinois cities on this site, 74% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Ottawa. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 47 times since 1969, with stones up to 3.75 inches. Of the 548 Illinois cities, 82% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Ottawa.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Ottawa
By decade
- 2020s15
- 2010s38(4 EF3+)
- 2000s12(1 EF3+)
- 1990s6
- 1980s4
- 1970s13(2 EF3+)
- 1960s8
- 1950s7(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 17, 2013 | EF4 | 24 mi | 46.36 mi | 3 / 125 |
| Apr 20, 2004 | F3 | 9 mi | 15.8 mi | 8 / 12 |
| Feb 28, 2017 | EF3 | in town | 11.5 mi | 2 / 14 |
| Dec 6, 1951 | F3 | 17 mi | 21.9 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Jun 22, 2015 | EF3 | 24 mi | 16.26 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Jun 5, 2010 | EF3 | 19 mi | 8.55 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 30, 1977 | F3 | 14 mi | 6.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 17, 1972 | F3 | 3 mi | 81.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 12, 1965 | F2 | 20 mi | 35.9 mi | 2 / 90 |
| Jun 5, 2010 | EF2 | 25 mi | 5.96 mi | 1 / 13 |
| Jul 15, 2024 | EF2 | 25 mi | 34.6 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Feb 28, 2017 | EF2 | 24 mi | 5.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 103, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Ottawa
The Storm Prediction Center has 47 hail reports within 10 miles of Ottawa since 1969, made on 39 separate days. Of these, 26 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.75 inches, fell on July 13, 2015. The most recent report is from April 30, 2022. July has the most reports, 12.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Ottawa
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Ottawa 5SW, IL, 4 miles southwest of Ottawa at 525 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 15°F. May is the wettest at 4.5 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.5 inches; the year adds up to 36.1 inches over 70 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 17 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 129 nights a year. Snowfall averages 23.7 inches a year, most of it in January. That 36.1 inches is more than at 6 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (4%). Marseilles, 8 miles east, has its own station (Marseilles Lock, IL): 39.1 inches a year, 3.0 more than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 15 | 1.8 | 5 | 9.2 |
| Feb | 35 | 19 | 1.5 | 4 | 5.2 |
| Mar | 48 | 29 | 2.3 | 5 | 3.3 |
| Apr | 61 | 39 | 3.5 | 8 | 0.4 |
| May | 72 | 51 | 4.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 61 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 64 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 62 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 54 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 64 | 43 | 3.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 49 | 32 | 2.5 | 5 | 0.8 |
| Dec | 36 | 21 | 2.0 | 5 | 4.8 |
| Year | 60 | 41 | 36.1 | 70 | 23.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Ottawa 5SW, IL (525 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Ottawa
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 122 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Ottawa: 98 thunderstorm wind reports, 12 floods, 6 flash floods, 3 heavy rain events and 3 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $1.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 104 mph, on October 3, 2000. June has had the most flash floods, 4 of 6. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 51 have had fewer than Ottawa.
August 23, 2011: lightning strike in Ottawa — 1 injured.
NWS: “A man working near a window in his basement felt a big jolt, as lightning struck near his house. He later found a natural gas line damaged by the lightning and while on the way to buy replacement parts, his right arm became numb.”
August 24, 2007: flood 6 miles from the centre of Ottawa — $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “33 feet at Dayton on August 24. This was more than 5 feet above flood stage.”
August 23, 2007: flash flood in Ottawa — $250,000 damage.
NWS: “Several inches of flowing water over Route 23 in and north of Ottawa. Flash flooding occurred in Utica as Clark Run Creek overflowed its banks sending floodwaters down the main part of town.”
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Flood insurance policyholders in Ottawa's ZIP code 61350 have filed 241 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $4.3 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1997: 122 claims (51% of all) and $2.1 million, then Mid-spring storms in 2013 with 35 and Hurricane Ike in 2008 with 29. 77% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 320 Illinois cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 274 have fewer than Ottawa.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1997 | 122 | $2.1 million |
| Mid-spring storms2013 | 35 | $926,000 |
| Hurricane Ike2008 | 29 | $736,000 |
LaSalle County, which includes Ottawa, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 floods, 5 snowstorms, 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives LaSalle County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for hail and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $60.5 million a year, the 16th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $33.1 million (55%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Ottawa
- Marseilles, IL8 mi
- Utica, IL9 mi
- Oglesby, IL12 mi
- Seneca, IL13 mi
- La Salle, IL13 mi
- Peru, IL15 mi
- Sheridan, IL15 mi
- Streator, IL15 mi
- Earlville, IL17 mi
- Leland, IL19 mi
- Spring Valley, IL19 mi
- Mendota, IL19 mi
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